Higher education is economics 101

Published 7:13 pm, Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The "Great Recession" technically ended several years ago, but questions it raised continue to demand answers. Many businesses have slashed prices to remain competitive. Almost everything is on sale or marked down. When people make a purchase, they want, and need, to know that they are getting their money's worth.

Dollars are harder to earn, and the next dollar to be earned is less certain than at any time since the 1980s. Slow wage growth and high levels of unemployment combine to dampen enthusiasm for spending. That is especially so when the spending is a long- or medium-term investment strategy, such as it is in the case of education.

Higher education has come under intense scrutiny and, in some cases, misplaced criticism. Commentators, politicians and parents complain that increasing costs of higher education are outpacing core inflation. Some media have been in a frenzy over the costs of education, leading to calls to reduce availability of federal aid, to exercise greater governmental oversight and to hold colleges and universities more accountable. Others have gone as far as suggesting that higher education is not worth what it costs.

All institutions of higher education should, to be sure, demonstrate their worthiness. If education involves a value proposition, we should set it forth. Regardless the ratio of private and public funding, colleges and universities must use their resources wisely. No one quarrels with that. But there is no evidence to cast serious doubt on the worth of higher education.

The United States Census Bureau survey suggests that the average college graduate earns 1.8 times more than the average high school graduate and faces considerably lower rates of unemployment (5.4 percent versus 10.3 percent in 2010).

Higher education's value is unambiguous. As an investment strategy, education is nearly without equal. Dollars spent on education produce a significant return on investment. That's true for individuals and families, and for society as a whole.

Individuals and families also benefit in non-financial terms. Higher education enriches experience by introducing students to the arts and to humanities, to modes of expression and communication, and to the power of ideas. Considered globally, evidence that higher education is a liberating force is also impressive. People of learning are far less likely to be misled by a tyrannical few.

Society as a whole also benefits from higher education, because colleges and universities produce skilled graduates who understand principles of engineering and design, business and medicine, and art and education. The goods and technologies we take for granted -- roads, fresh water, sewage treatment, cell phones, computers, fresh food, air conditioning -- are produced and sustained by people who received high levels of education.

Each of these technologies also is built on a foundation of basic science: mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry and the like. As we face an uncertain future, much is at stake. The challenges facing our society are most likely to be solved if we invest in a broad range of educational institutions.

Colleges and universities are factories of innovation, and that is a paramount reason for their existence. Faculty members and students seek solutions, they seek to improve efficiency, and they articulate new ideas and perspectives.

In the real world, those skills are valuable. The diversity of higher education also contributes to its value proposition: community colleges, for-profit and public institutions, public colleges and private institutions -- each exist to further a distinct set of purposes and serve distinctive students.

None of this is to suggest that our schools and colleges should not diligently attempt to increase their efficiency and control their costs. A national discussion, in partnership with the leaders of these schools, would surely be more productive than politically popular mandates of over-simplified criticism from those unfamiliar with details of our operations and challenges.

The University of Bridgeport's mission commits the institution to offering career-oriented programs in an internationally diverse context, and to supporting students in their educational journeys. UB draws students from the region -- 50 percent from Connecticut -- the nation and 80 countries around the world, to cultivate skills and aptitudes, habits of mind, and elements of character that will enable them to serve and lead in the communities in which they live. Our graduates serve in widely varied careers and professions, and they are marked as UB graduates by understanding the role of culture in shaping human life. They are likely to have a group of friends and contacts at various places around the world. So important are these experiences that we have to say they are invaluable -- beyond our ability to quantify.

As the university's president, I'm in a position to see the successes of our graduates. I see how they benefit financially, how their careers take off, and how they live meaningful and productive lives. From my perspective, some critics of higher education miss the main point even as they offer valuable commentary on how we might go about improving what we do. Let's remember the American higher education system is still the envy of the world.

That is why thousands of students from other countries still compete for admission to our universities. Let's not forget what is most important: we educate well, we improve lives, and we brighten the hope of tomorrow. As we continually seek to improve what we do, we must not unintentionally undermine the basis of our competitive strength.